Hey! Zeno here, just wanted to say that this is going be a blast to write. Rivett and I are co-writing this fan-fic here. Any review will be great, feel free to submit. We'll be trading off chapters, and I take the first one here, so enjoy!

   - Zeno

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  I sat up rubbing my temples. Slowly I opened my eyes as I brushed my blonde locks out of the way of my face. They drifted around the strange place I'd landed, wherever it was. I noticed there were strange white concrete stairs and benches surrounding me as I sat on dirt. I supposed it was some sort of primitive arena. The place stank of sweat and blood. Odd bits of flesh and wound lay about scattered on the floor.

  In my amazement of where ever I was, I stood only to find myself back on the ground. A surge of pain swept through my body. I instantly reached to the source of my anguish, only to find that it was missing. Looking down to where my hand should be, there remained only a bloody stump. I glared in anger, what had caused this? He took another dizzying look around the field to realize the bits of skin, blood, and fingers, where mine.

 Blood was gushing out fast, and it was only a matter of time until I was unconscious and soon dead if I didn't stop it. I slung out my humongous sword and slashed off a bandage from my blue pant leg. Oh, how knifes are handy, especially big ones. Then I repeated the procedure with the other side. After retaining the two strips of cloth, I tied one further up my arm to reduce blood flow and then proceeded to reduce the injury to my stump by covering it and further tying it off.

 I tried to stand again, this time become more successful. Shaking my head a tad, I began to stagger forward barely managing to retain my balance and stand again once more. I felt as if I was sobering up from Tiffa's bar. As I walked, I stumbled a tad here and there but going onward for what seemed to be eternity.

 The exit seemed to be right there, right in my reach. So close yet so far. It was, from what I can remember, giant steel bars that raised and lowered as a hollow door. I had finally reached them and grabbed hold. I looked about as to how I was supposed to lift these things to get past and to get help. The more I looked around the wearier I became. As things became blurry I finally noticed a small crank. Grasping each bar I pushed myself to the next, and the next. Though a rather funny feeling was coming over me, I found myself becoming shorter and shorter with each step. At last I knew my time was done when my face met the ground and I was very short on breath. Apparently, my bandages weren't that great because the last thing I saw was the trail I'd swaggered and stumbled in my own blood. Then everything faded black.

 "Hey kid, kid wake up!" I heard a rather retched voice call. The person sounded as though they would have made a great comedian, and yet at the same time they could wake the dead. I opened my eyes slowly to see the God of Death looming over me, "Finally you awake."

 "I'm in hell, figures." I spoke rather sarcastically.

 "You're here but you're not dead, so you're hell-fully alive." He laughed. I groaned, after all just dawned on my hand was gone. As I lay there in the bed I lifted the stump to see something in its place.

 "What the in the name of all things holy did you do to me?!" I spat angrily. Apparently he'd taken the time to reconstruct my hand, "You could at least of given me an actual hand, not this freaked up claw contraption." The apparatus was a stainless steel to match my sword in the basic bone structure of a hand, except it had three fingers and a thumb. Alas I was short of a pinky.

 Hades raised a brow at me, "God of Death!" He spoke agitated. The flames on his head spiked a little, "I kill things, I don't heal them."

 "So then instead of getting some other god, goddess, or mythical being, you had a piece of weapon ingrained into my hand?" I glared at him.

 "Do you want to die?"

 "Not at this moment."

 "Good then, shut up." His flaming hairstyle seemed to calm down as he brushed his hand through it. At least I knew while he was this deathly blue shade he was in a relatively good mood. In an exasperated tone he continued, "Now, Cloud, I've been watching that planet you've been on for sometime now. I've watched you take on numerous heartless and such things. I know you can fight. And I know you have a problem, since you escaped the doom of those worlds…" his voice trailed off.

 The last few years of my life had been a giant train wreck. First I lost my love, then I lost my planet, and then when my luck just happened to change and by an act of God, she came back to me, that love of mine, I lose another planet. So that's I think how I wound up here. "Okay so, yes a lot of people track me… I even managed to sell my life story to some strange company to make some quick cash. My story is well known, what is my problem?" I hissed, after all the man, okay 'god', was prying to into my life.

 "Hey this is no way to talk to the man who saved you!" His hair was being to stick on edge again.

 "But you're the god of death, you didn't save me!" I retorted.

 "What's that yelling about?" A new voice rang in the room, a young girl walked in. She was direly gorgeous, but nothing compared to my love. She was dressed in a black flowing gown with a matching diamond and onyx tiara to match. She was deathly pale.  Hades quickly swung around, "Nothing my love! Nothing at all!" There was a sense of uneasiness in his voice.

She turned her smile onto me, "Oh good you're awake, I'm sorry that I was unable to bring back your hand. I hope you like the new one I had made for you by my cousin, god of the smith. He'll get you that last finger soon, before you leave I promise."

 I bit my lip, I was so, so, so wrong.

 "Cloud, meet Queen Persephone, my wife."  I moved the steel contraption, it wasn't that bad, it would always remain with a new look because it was god made and stainless steel, missing one finger wasn't too much after all. I mean it wasn't my thumb; that would prove to be a problem if it had.

 I smiled and nodded, "Yes, thank you very much for all your care."

 She smiled and nodded back, "When I saw you there in the coliseum I demanded that you be brought here for care. I mean it wasn't you fault and I wasn't going to let those horrible Fates have you yet."

 Hades continued to glare at me, "My Queen, we have a few matters to discuss, if you wouldn't mind excusing us?" he said hastily. She said her goodbyes and left, "Charming little thing. Just saw her one day and scooped her up to brighten up the place."

 "Very. Sorry about the agitation before."

 "Same here." Amazing what the presence of a woman can do. I remember that I totally shaped up around her. No more boos, no more spontaneous fighting, unless it was to protect her, then I was busy all the time. Oh how I wished for one of Persephone's flowers to remind me of my love.

 "She's not here Cloud, I would know after all," he chuckled, "she's in the land of the living. I have a proposition to make…" I looked intently at him. With the world growing closer and closer to anarchy and chaos with the growing powers of the Heartless, the only thing I wanted was to be her to be safe by my side. I would not fail her again.

 "I'll help you find her if you do me one favor. Kill this man," a picture instantly appeared out of thin air. He was a strong looking young man, his hair was radiant golden wheat, with matching amber eyes, a nice physique, and matching tan. This guy was simply a teenage heartthrob.
 "You want me to kill him, why can't you do it?" I was just curious; I would do anything for her, anything.

 "I don't really want go into that too much, lets just say we'd have major family problems, gods don't generally kill one another."

 I was astounded, "You want me to kill a god?"

 "Demi actually, see he's son of Zeus, and his mother is mortal, so instead of eternal life he got super strength. So I need you (I've seen you in action before) to go kill him, dead."

 I sighed, "Well I will when I am rested I suppose, but you must promise to help me find her."

 A contract appeared in front of me, "This will be the exact plan we can use to do the job, and all you have to do is sign it and we'll be good to go!" Hades grinned with glee. I began to read and read and read.

 Even a place in my heart was tingling and I was beginning to smile, "Mind if we talk over some food, I'm starved."
 "I'll have to order out or you'll be stuck here forever, that's the rule of Tartarus. The only exception is my Queen."

 I nodded and we began to talk more and more.